Web/digital insight analyst — Will Brooks

Will studied economics and history at the University of Manchester, he now works as a digital insight analyst for Jet2holidays

How did you get your job?

After graduating in the summer of 2014, I was unsure what I wanted to do. I got a part-time job at John Lewis but I felt I was lacking direction. I wanted to get some digital marketing experience, as I have always been interested in this.

I managed to secure a month's worth of work experience as an intern in the marketing department at Jet2holidays. The majority of the work I did was for the web analytics team. I really enjoyed the work and at the end of it I was lucky enough to be offered a permanent role.

Try and do as much work experience as you can. It is invaluable when looking for a career

How relevant is your degree to your job?

I did an academic degree, which was not vocational, so it was not directly relevant.

However, the course taught me some very important general skills that I find invaluable in my current job. For example, the statistical analysis that formed part of my degree's economics element has given me the skills to spot trends and make insights.

Try and do as much work experience as you can. It is invaluable when looking for a career

Additionally, the history element in my degree improved my writing and verbal skills. This is very useful, as I am expected to communicate and summarise the insights I make to colleagues across the business.

What do you do day-to-day?

My tasks vary as I work with all areas of the business. For example, one morning I could be doing some work for the product team and in the afternoon I may be meeting with the revenue department about the analysis that we offer.

Our aim is to help all departments optimise their specific areas and meet their objectives. One thing is certain; there are a lot of reports.

What are your career ambitions?

I have only been in the role for five months but every day I am given more responsibility and freedom to explore new things that enhance my skills.

I am really enjoying my current role as a web analyst but I hope to become more knowledgeable on different areas of digital marketing.

In the future, I hope that I will be able to manage my own team. And you never know one day I may be able to start my own ecommerce business and use the experience that I am getting now to give it a strong digital presence.

What do you enjoy about your job?

I love working and interacting with all areas of the business. The work we do with the UX (user experience) team is particularly interesting.

I really enjoy seeing how the insights we make can help optimise the website, improve the user experience and boost performance.

What are the most challenging parts of your job?

Elements of the job can be quite technical from an IT perspective. To make sure the data we work with is correct, the website tracking has to be set up and maintained. This is challenging but it is still interesting to work with the IT department and improve my technical knowledge.

What are the best things about working in this sector?

It is great to be working in the digital marketing field. There are always new opportunities and tools available that can make a huge difference to the overall performance of website. This means there are always new things to explore and try out, which is very exciting.

Any advice for others who would like to get into this career?

My experience in getting into this career has shown that it is accessible for everyone. The one bit of advice that I would give to all students is to try and do as much work experience as you can. It is invaluable when looking for a career and it gives you a taste of what that the working environment is like. That way, you can quickly tell if the profession is ideal for you.